Scooping up success with bittersweet cones

When Burnt Cones opened in Sunset Way in December 2020, co-founder Miles Thng, 34, was taking a gamble during one of the most uncertain times.

- Hedy Khoo

The food and beverage (F&B) industry was still reeling from the Covid-19 pandemic. His wife was expecting their first child and he had quit his corporate job to pursue a dessert concept with a former classmate.

The decision paid off. Burnt Cones has since grown into a six-outlet chain known for its gelato served in housemade cones and waffles. A seventh outlet is slated to open by year's end and the brand is testing overseas markets with pop-ups in Melbourne.

Mr Thng, who graduated from The University of Manchester in 2016 with a bachelor's degree in business administration and management, had earlier ventured into the F&B scene with vegan cafe and bar Hrvst in 2017 and vegan fast-food pop-up Hello Baby in Chinatown Food Street in 2018.

He sold the former, losing $50,000 in the process, and closed the latter kiosk by April 2019. But the experience gave him perspective.

"I was demoralised, but I learnt we had to offer something that more people could identify with, something with wider appeal," he says.

His stint at OUE Downtown Gallery with Hrvst also taught him that prime Central Business District space came with high rental and overheads.

"When setting up Burnt Cones, my partner and I took a conservative approach and went for the HDB heartland. But Sunset Way is unique as it has private residential estates in the vicinity, so it was a good mix of demographics."

In January 2017, Mr Thng reconnected with his primary school classmate from Anglo-Chinese School (Junior), Mr Xavier Chng, 34, at the latter's wedding. Mr Chng had started his own team-building company and a private-dining business called Sunday Roast.

The two discussed the possibility of starting a business together, but it would take three years before they each put in $50,000 of their savings to open Burnt Cones' first outlet.